Circle Line
The Circle Line (CCL) is Singapore's fourth (Mass Rapid Transit) MRT lines. This underground line is 35.7 kilometres (22.2 mi) long with 31 stations (excluding Bukit Brown) and is fully automatically operated. It takes about one hour to travel from one end to the other. The line is coloured orange on the rail map. It is maintained by SMRT . As the name implies, the line is an orbital circle route linking all radial routes leading to the city. It also covers many parts of the Central Area. From Promenade, the line branches with one branch terminating at Dhoby Ghaut and the other terminating at Marina Bay. Transfers to the North South Line are provided at Bishan, Dhoby Ghaut and Marina Bay, East West Line at Paya Lebar and Buona Vista, and North East Line at Dhoby Ghaut, Serangoon and HarbourFront. The Downtown Line will interchange with the Circle Line at Bayfront, Promenade, Botanic Gardens and MacPherson and the future Thomson Line will interchange with the Circle Line at Caldecott and Marina Bay. The Circle Line is the first medium capacity line in Singapore. As a medium capacity line, each Circle Line train has only three cars instead of the six-car configuration as seen on current MRT lines. Half a million people are expected to use the Circle Line each day. The line reduces travelling time for commuters by allowing them to shorten trips between north to east or north to west and vice versa, bypassing busy interchange like City Hall and Raffles Place. History Plans for the Circle Line date back to the 1980s. The then Minister for Communications and Information, Dr Yeo Ning Hong stated that such a system "would be feasible when the population reaches four million." In the 1990s, the Circle Line was first known as the Marina Line. The Marina Line was initially planned as a 12-station underground line, starting from Chinatown and Dhoby Ghaut via the National Stadium to either Kallang or Paya Lebar station. However, the Chinatown leg was later truncated and was reduced to 6 stations up to Stadium station. On the other hand, a further extension towards Upper Paya Lebar was added. Eventually, the Marina Line ended up as an inner circular line. Stations in Circle Line that were a part of the original Marina Line plans include Dhoby Ghaut, Bras Basah, Esplanade, Promenade, Nicoll Highway and Stadium. Also, the part of the Marina Line from Chinatown to Promenade is now part of the Downtown Line . Originally scheduled to be opened from 2006 and fully opened in 2010, with an estimated cost of S$6.7 billion, the Nicoll Highway collapse caused the construction of the Circle Line to be delayed to 2009, with full opening by 2011 (excluding the Marina Bay Extension), at an escalated cost of nearly S$10 billion. Due to the re-alignment of the Nicoll Highway Station to a new location, the station is only two-thirds the size of the original plan before the collapse, and located 100 metres (330 ft) away from the highway collapse site. The decision was also made to open both Caldecott, and Haw Par Villa stations (previously Thomson and West Coast), initially planned as shell stations, together with the whole line, leaving only Bukit Brown Station closed. Stage 3, a 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) five-station segment stretching from Bartley to Marymount, was the first section of the line opened, on May 28, 2009. Initial ridership on this section was lower than estimated, at 32,000 passengers per day (ppd) instead of the estimated 55,000 ppd. Tunneling works for the entire line were completed on August 17, 2009. Stages 1 and 2 started operations on April 17, 2010; Stages 4 and 5 on October 8, 2011. and the final Circle Line Extension on January 14, 2012. On 17 January 2013, the Land Transport Authority announced 'Circle Line Stage 6' which will close the circle, running between Marina Bay and HarbourFront via Keppel. It will be a 4 km extension and is planned to be completed by 2025. Nicoll Highway collapse On 20 April 2004, a section of the tunnel being built for the Circle Line collapsed, apparently when a retaining wall used in the tunnel's construction gave way. This occurred near what was planned to become the Nicoll Highway Station on the Circle line, not far from the Merdeka Bridge. The accident left a collapse zone 150 metres (490 ft) wide, 100 metres (330 ft) long, and 30 metres (98 ft) deep. Four workers were killed, with three more injured. A criminal inquiry found the main contractor Nishimatsu Construction Company and joint venture partner firm Lum Chang Construction Company and their officers, as well as key Land Transport Authority officers responsible for the collapse. Several other officers and subcontractors were reprimanded and issued warnings in connection with the accident. As a result of this accident, the first phase of the Circle Line, previously scheduled to open in 2008, was completed in 2010 instead. The affected station has been shifted about 100 metres (330 ft) away from the accident site and is now located at Republic Avenue. This accident had also resulted in stricter safety regulations for the construction of all future MRT lines. The shifting of the Nicoll Highway Station also meant it can no longer serve as a terminus for the Bukit Timah Line, partially influencing the creation of the current Downtown Line. Other incidents On 16 August 2007, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) issued a stop-work order and revoked the contractor's tunnelling permit after a 7 metres (23 ft) stretch of two lanes sank about 20 centimetres (7.9 in), close to the junction of Telok Blangah Road and Alexandra Road in the evening, resulting in a halting of tunnelling works. A section of the road above a construction site near Holland Road caved in on the morning of 24 May 2008, creating a massive hole. The hole, directly in front of two private houses along Cornwall Gardens Road, measured 8 by 7 metres and was 3 metres deep. No one was injured, but the road was temporarily closed to traffic. Stations North South Line (NSL) NS1EW24 Jurong East NS2 Bukit Batok NS3 Bukit Gombak NS4BP1 Choa Chu Kang NS5 Yew Tee NS6 (located near Sungei Kadut) NS7 Kranji NS8 Marsiling NS9TS2 Woodlands NS10 Admiralty NS11 Sembawang NS12 (located near Simpang) NS13 Yishun NS14 Khatib NS15 Yio Chu Kang NS16 Ang Mo Kio NS17CC15 Bishan NS18 Braddell NS19 Toa Payoh NS20 Novena NS21DT11 Newton NS22TS14 Orchard NS23 Somerset NS24NE6CC1 Dhoby Ghuat NS25EW13 City Hall NS26EW14 Raffles Place NS27CE2TS20 Marina Bay NS28 Marina South Pier East West Line (EWL) EW1 Pasir Ris EW2DT32 Tampines EW3 Simei EW4 Tanah Merah EW5 Bedok EW6 Kembangan EW7 Eunos EW8CC9 Paya Lebar EW9 Aljunied EW10 Kallang EW11 Lavender EW12DT14 Bugis EW13NS25 City Hall EW14NS26 Raffles Place EW15 Tanjong Pagar EW16NE3TS17 Outram Park EW17 Tiong Bahru EW18 Redhill EW19 Queenstown EW20 Commonwealth EW21CC22 Buona Vista EW22 Dover EW23 Clementi EW24NS1 Jurong East EW25 Chinese Garden EW26 Lakeside EW27 Boon Lay EW28 Pioneer EW29 Joo Koon EW30 Gul Circle EW31 Tuas Crescent EW32 Tuas West Road EW33 Tuas Link CG1DT35 Expo CG2 Changi Airport North East Line (NEL) NE1CC29 Habourfront NE2 (located near Keppel) NE3EW16TS17 Outram Park NE4DT19 Chinatown NE5 Clarke Quay NE6NS25CC1 Dhoby Ghuat NE7DT12 Little India NE8 Farrer Park NE9 Boon Keng NE10 Potong Pasir NE11 Woodleigh NE12CC13 Serangoon NE13 Kovan NE14 Hougang NE15 Buangkok NE16STC Sengkang NE17PTC Punggol Circle Line (CCL) CC1NS25NE6 Dhoby Ghuat CC2 Bras Brasah CC3 Esplanade CC4DT15 Promenade CC5 Nicoll Highway CC6 Stadium CC7 Mountbatten CC8 Dakota CC9EW8 Paya Lebar CC10DT26 MacPherson CC11 Tai Seng CC12 Bartley CC13NE12 Serangoon CC14 Lorong Chuan CC15NS17 Bishan CC16 Marymount CC17TS9 Caldecott CC18 Bukit Brown CC19DT9 Botanic Gardens CC20 Farrer Road CC21 Holland Village CC22EW21 Buona Vista CC23 one-north CC24 Kent Ridge CC25 Haw Par Villa CC26 Pasir Panjang CC27 Labrador Park CC28 Telok Blangah CC26 Labrador Park CC29NE1 Habourfront CE1DT16 Bayfront CE2NS27TS20 Marina Bay Downtown Line (DTL) DT1BP6 Bukit Panjang DT2 Cashew DT3 Hillview DT4 (located near Hume Avenue) DT5 Beauty World DT6 King Albert Park DT7 Sixth Avenue DT8 Tan Kah Kee DT9CC19 Botanic Gardens DT10TS11 Stevens DT11NS21 Newton DT12NE7 Little India DT13 Rochor DT14EW12 Bugis DT15CC4 Promenade DT16CE1 Bayfront DT17 Downtown DT18 Telok Ayer DT19NE4 Chinatown DT20 Fort Canning DT21 Bencoolen DT22 Jalan Besar DT23 Bendemeer DT24 Geylang Bahru DT25 Mattar DT26CC10 MacPherson DT27 Ubi DT28 Kaki Bukit DT29 Bedok North DT30 Bedok Reservoir DT31 Tampines West DT32EW2 Tampines DT33 Tampines East DT34 Upper Changi DT35CG1 Expo Furure Lines (under planning) Thomson Line (TSL) TS1 Woodlands North TS2NS9 Woodlands TS3 Woodlands South TS5 Springleaf TS6 Lentor TS7 Mayflower TS8 Sin Ming TS9 Upper Thomson TS9CC17 Caldecott TS10 Mount Pleasant TS11DT10 Stevens TS12 Napier TS13 Orchard Boulevard TS14NS22 Orchard TS15 Great World TS16 Havelock TS17NE3EW16 Outram Park TS18 Maxwell TS19 Shenton Way TS20NS27CE2 Marina Bay TS21 Marina South TS22 Gardens by the Bay Eastern Region Line (ERL) (under planning) Jurong Region Line (JRL) (under planning) Cross Island Line (CRL) (under planning) Category:MRT lines Singapore